On behalf of the entire community of Long Beach, the Mayor and City Council would like to pay special tribute to the memory of Verna Oller for her very extraordinary and generous gift of $3.5 million to build a swimming pool for use of the citizens of the Long Beach Peninsula. Since learning of this bequest, the Mayor and City Council have been considering what needs to be done and where to start to make the dream of Verna Oller come true.
The Mayor directed city staff to begin doing research on the construction costs of an indoor swimming pool facility and the operation and maintenance costs of such a facility. The Mayor is also assembling a task force of citizens with peninsula wide representation to determine the direction we should go with this project. Any decision by the task force and the City will require significant information and these decisions should not be made in haste, or without sufficient data and factual information.
Mrs. Oller was specific in her desire to make sure the City can support the pool’s ongoing operation, in fact she asked to have a realistic, and funded five year O&M budget for the pool in place prior to construction. Basic indoor pool operation and maintenance costs around $14 a square foot the first five years plus the staffing costs ($140,000 a year for a 10,000 square foot facility and staffing approximately $100,000 per year), $18 a square foot the next five years plus staff ($180,000 and staffing costs of approximately $100,000 per year) and it goes up from that point. At the ten year point you start to have to make significant upgrades and replacement costs plus the cost of labor will most likely be greater.
The cost of construction is another significant number, ranging from $180 to $300 a square foot with a basic small pool around 10,000 square feet. In a 10,000 SF facility you could have a 25 yard 6 lane lap pool, a family fun pool about the same size as the lap pool. This fun pool could have a water slide and other family fun amenities. And finally a small hydro-therapy pool, plus the locker rooms, equipment and utility rooms and small open space. The following is some basic background and information on such a facility:
- Design of indoor swimming pools is very different from that of outdoor ones as indoor pools are not subject to the dust and dirt that attacks outdoor pools. But they do require room ventilation to control humidity and maintain a comfortable atmosphere. Without a proper ventilation system, high indoor humidity levels will cause numerous problems, especially in heated pools, including condensation on cold surfaces and rusting of structural components.
- Community swimming pools are designed for use by children and infants, and hence need to have safety as paramount right from the beginning. The design of these pools will have a strong emphasis on anti-entrapment techniques, so that a safe environment is available for the youngest swimmers. The other challenge is to incorporate very shallow areas like the toddlers pools along with deep area pools required for other swimming activities and even swimming competitions.
- Specific Types of Recreational Pools Include:
Multi-Purpose – Including areas for all users including lap lanes for recreational or competitive swimming, use for water aerobics (hydro pools with sufficient depth and size are used for this function also), water polo and other swimming activities.
Children’s Play Pool or leisure pools – Including either zero-depth or very shallow water to around 18 inches of water. These pools will typically have interactive wet play elements such as water buckets, cannons, and sprays and climb-on structures featuring slides and other interactive water play elements.
Hydrotherapy pools – Are pools that are run at a higher temperature than normal pools and also have water massage jets and other water features. The temperature is set just about body temperature so that you have a warm feeling and the moving water massages you in a way that only water can. The water gives you buoyancy that takes the tension off most parts of the body. The movement of the hot water in a hydrotherapy pool is enough in many cases to provide relief for arthritis and similar pains. Unlike traditional hot tubs, the hydrotherapy pool can be significantly larger and have depths up to three and a half to four feet.
The City is working as fast as it can to make the best decision to move forward with the dream Verna Oller had, she understood very well that it will take time and gave the City five years to make this dream become a reality. The City of Long Beach is in the process of doing this at this time.